Betting News - Top Trainers

Although natural ability plays a role in every horse race around the country, there is undoubtedly a human impact on the outcome of races. Jockeys and trainers can help horses reach their potential or prevent them from achieving it. Betting News trainer analysis tool is here to help horseplayers understand which type of trainers have runners in today's race.

One of the key elements of understanding trainers is the fact that trainers are creatures of habit. When they find something that works, they will repeat it over and over. This may include frequent success at a certain distance, on a certain surface, at a certain level, or during a specific meet. This is where the power of Betting News' trainer analysis tool can be a huge asset to any handicapper.

By using the filters a player can get away from using standard win and in-the-money percentages and instead break down how the trainer specifically does in races that fit today's conditions. This may suggest that a super trainer that everyone is likely to use may not have the horse ready to go today or that the little low percentage barn is ready to fire their one shot today. Either way it can mean a profitable day at the races. As you adjust the filters the DHP ratings will also adjust to reflect the trainer's proficiency at getting a horse in-the-money under the selected conditions.

Don't forget to check out the jockey analysis tool to give yourself a further edge on the competition!

Track

Surface

Condition

Distances

Race Types

Posts

Top Trainers

Name Starts Win % Show % DHP
1st/2nd/3rd
4th or 5th
6th +
Chris J Englehart 1542 28% 61% Great
946
334
262
Paul W Barrow 1490 19% 52% Great
773
405
312
Jonathan B Buckley 1477 16% 49% Good
728
415
334
Ralph D'Alessandro 1350 12% 38% Poor
508
387
455
M Anthony Ferraro 1218 20% 54% Great
661
315
242
James S Acquilano 1214 20% 59% Great
711
287
216
Rachel Sells 1019 9% 36% Poor
362
349
308
Jeremiah C Englehart 972 28% 65% Great
633
208
131
Michael S Ferraro 964 22% 58% Great
562
250
152
Debra A Breed 903 13% 41% Avg
371
259
273
Jeffrey S Englehart 798 21% 54% Great
427
231
140
Michael A LeCesse 758 15% 46% Good
352
237
169
Luis Gutierrez 699 8% 31% Bad
214
237
248
Donna Bireta 691 6% 34% Poor
238
245
208
Timothy P Murphy 691 9% 37% Bad
255
188
248
Ilmar Loaiza 646 17% 46% Good
297
178
171
Dylan Clarke 624 9% 36% Bad
227
159
238
Daniel H Conway 603 23% 61% Great
368
144
91
Karl M Grusmark 561 14% 44% Avg
245
166
150
James T Wright 531 17% 49% Good
261
143
127
Linda K Dixon 520 15% 41% Avg
213
156
151
Edward J Babcock 497 8% 32% Bad
157
156
184
Rafael Jose Rohena 484 14% 46% Avg
223
137
124
Beth Miller-Saul 445 15% 40% Avg
179
160
106
Joseph A Cabrera 428 10% 35% Poor
151
155
122
Charlton Baker 426 22% 60% Great
254
97
75
Stacy Torelli 382 13% 45% Avg
172
114
96
Christopher Progno 379 18% 49% Good
186
111
82
Ronald Breed Jr 360 13% 41% Avg
147
110
103
Bruce D Anderson 354 16% 47% Good
167
96
91
Sal Iorio 323 11% 39% Poor
127
87
109
John Tebbutt 319 11% 40% Poor
127
93
99
Arcadio Lopez 312 5% 29% Bad
91
93
128
Eduardo Maver 306 6% 24% Bad
73
99
134
William H Bartlett 281 9% 39% Poor
110
95
76
Carlos V Dominguez 269 10% 40% Poor
108
81
80
Nirka Huertas 264 12% 41% Avg
109
82
73
Alexandra Hillegass 255 9% 29% Bad
74
82
99
Samuel Morales 249 5% 27% Bad
67
73
109
Michael T Sabine 240 15% 42% Avg
100
78
62
Brent Bond 230 5% 23% Bad
52
82
96
Jacqueline Falk 228 7% 34% Bad
78
74
76
Amber Cobb 224 6% 38% Bad
84
62
78
Mark L Tasso 212 11% 42% Poor
88
56
68
Harris J Dukes 212 7% 33% Bad
71
64
77
Wayne E Sparling 210 4% 20% Bad
42
69
99
Jackie Stauffer 204 14% 46% Good
93
61
50
Brooke Ficarella 197 4% 18% Bad
35
69
93
Ortis N Henry 178 12% 30% Bad
53
46
79
Victor Dean 177 4% 21% Bad
37
59
81

Why Trainers Matter?

Trainers are entrusted by the owners of the horse to prepare them to win races. Think of a trainer like the coach of a team. Individually the trainer cannot win the race, but the way the trainer prepares the athlete for the race can maximize the horse’s ability. This becomes especially important as horses start to mature beyond their two year old season.

Why is the DHP Top Trainer Tool Helpful?

Horses can be upgraded or downgraded based on their trainers, but many people will overgeneralize the effectiveness of a trainer based on their overall win percentage. However, even the best trainers have blind spots and the weakest trainers have some ability that allows them to pay bills and attract new owners to their barn.

Using the DHP Top Trainer Tool for a Race

To use the top jockey tool follow the steps below:

  1. Change the drop down menus to match any or all of the conditions for the race you are handicapping.
    • Track: Many trainers will have meets that they like to point their horses to. It is very hard to have horses fully cranked year round. Knowing which meets a trainer targets can be a great separator.
    • Surface: With dirt and turf surfaces running so dramatically different in terms of race flow, it is not surprising that many trainers who excel on dirt are less effective with turf runners. The same is true for those who are prolific with turfers.
    • Condition: This factor plays the biggest role when the ground is not fast or firm. Off tracks typically will favor trainers that are good at putting early speed into their horses.
    • Distance: Horse races are often classified as either sprints (less than 8 furlongs) or routes (one mile and over). However, dynamics can change dramatically depending on the various lengths within each of these categories. If a trainer is good at training sprinters, they may be left vulnerable in route races and vice versa.
    • Race Types: This is especially important for trainers. Some trainers get the best of the best talent at the track which will be reflected with high marks in the stakes and allowance ranks. Some trainers are masters of the claiming game (buying and selling horses out of races). A claiming trainer who sends out a stakes runner may be in too deep. A top stakes trainer may be racking up high percentages with good animals but when they drop to the claiming ranks, they can’t move average horses forward. Understanding which levels the trainer excels at is paramount to unlocking hidden value in races.
    • Barriers/Post Positions: Post position stats for trainers are of limited importance and may be used to eliminate horses in clear weak spots for the trainer, but likely won’t uncover any actionable angle by itself. This filter can still be useful, but should be used in combinations with other filters in the menu.
  2. Once you have set any or all of the filters, select the “Refresh Charts” button to see the updated data which reflects your race.

Using the Top Trainer Tool for an Individual Trainer

While the top trainer tool is extremely effective for comparing all trainers in a given race, it can also be a major factor when analyzing an individual trainer.

This can be done from the top trainer charts. Simply find the trainer you want to look up and click their name. You will now see a report of their rating and percentages at every one of the filters from the top trainer tool.

Using this view you may be able to identify spots where you can beat a high percentage trainer. For example, Bob Baffert wins at a nearly 30% clip across all races. His horses are often crushed at the windows and offer little value. However, looking closer at the trainer profile the is rated as “Poor” on turf. Many people will see the 28% winning percentage and bet his horses without recognizing that many of his turf runners do not perform to the level of his dirt contingent. This can provide a great advantage for the horse player who can look to fade this super trainer on turf.